Monday15 Dec. Lukenya to Masai Amboseli AM

We were up early, and got away by 7:30 for the journey from Camp Lukenya (Athi) to Amboseli National Park and Ol Tukai Lodge, a distance of 250 kilometers or so. We had been told the road was "excellent" tarmac all the way from Athi to Namanga which would have accounted for the first 180 kilometers or so. Those who told us were WRONG. More deviations/detours through the bush...sometimes within sight of the paved road, but more often then not far away. Lots of dust...lots of potholes, plenty of corrugations - kind of like an endless washboard. To be careful of police checks, this first portion of the journey was handled by Paul. We stopped at Namanga where the road to the Park turns off to refuel the Mitsubishi Pajero for the balance of the trip. While waiting for the fueling attendant we were inundated by Masai women trying to sell curios. Since this is the only petrol station in town they have it staked out, and they were very persistant. "You buy...500 shillings...how much mister....baba I need money" well you get the idea. I had experienced this type of onslaught before, but Zach had not, and Paul only gave a brief hint of what to expect. I guess he did not want to spoil Zach's expierence with too much for knowledge. It was quite overwhelming particularly when you realized we would need to pass back the same way 0n 0ur return...but more on the return later.

Once we were closer to the border, we could see where Mt. Kiliminjaro should be, but it was covered in clouds. After entering the park we drove through a vast dry lake bed (in the rainy season it would be full of water) which was also quite dusty and we passed several large herds of Masai cattle. The Masai being the indeginous tribe in that area have permission to graze their herds in the park, much to the chagrin of most tourists who want to see wildlife. The Masai really have impacted the area, and taken away some important area from the wildlife, plus the Masai can still kill lions if their cows are killed. Anyway once past the herds of cattle we began to see more of what we came for...plains game, zebra, white bearded gnu (wildebeast), several species of gazelle, giraffe ect. We did some viewing/photography as we leisurely made our way into the park, lots of elephant which was quite nice. Arrived at Ol Tukai lodge around mid-day and got checked into our rooms and then headed for an awesome buffet lunch with fresh veggies/salads, soup, rice, fried potatos, green beans & carrots, fish, beef & pork as much as you want. After we made our first pass at the buffet line we sat on an open verandah to eat and soak in the compelling scene. Almost 200 elephant scattered across the horizon as well as hundreds of plains game, monkeys etc.. Oh wait, there was also a desert buffet with about 10 different kinds of cakes, tarts, flans, fruit...too much to list. And tea or coffee. After lunch it was off to the pool (refreshingly cold water) and comfy chairs & sun beds still within eyesight of all the vista of animals.